november highlights [monthly recap]

november came and went by so fast and it's december tomorrow! the past month just went by in a blur and i'm thankful for the happy hectic that is our home. we had a wonderful thanksgiving family reunion feast and i'm so grateful that we were able to gather. also, this little blog has been a great diversion for me and i appreciate your presence and comments everyday. i am truly thankful for that!

as we come to this month's end, let me do my usual monthly highlights of different things pretty and lovely that i have stumbled upon other blogs, websites or simply anything that has inspired me the past month. there's just so much to adore out there!

 i'm crushing over this.....

 

 

 {source via style me pretty}

mommies across the globe ~ babyccino kids!

i love these matching kurtas for mommy and baby from rikshaw design {25% off now thru dec 7th} . stop by rikshaw's founder and designer, catherine's blog and say hello!

12 deals of christmas started yesterday at my fave alexandra knight shop! for the next 12 days, featured luxurious exotic-skinned clutches, bags and accessories will be offered at 50% off ~ be sure to subscribe to their emails to alert you of the daily deals! 

{alligator letter key chains $ 42.50 11/29 only} 


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i'm looking forward to a merry happy holiday!

it's a wrap [gift wrapping ideas]

i love wrapping presents and especially for the holiday season there are tons of creative ways to adorn the simplest precious gift to make the gift wrapper just as unforgettable as the gift itself. i am especially partial to using leftover craft materials that are stored in your house. you'll be surprised that buttons, extra tinsel, doilies, old ornaments and recycled old christmas cards are perfect little hanging accessories for your gifts!

tie gift tags with baker's twine, scrap fabric and extra ribbons for an added special touch. wrap your gifts with kraft paper, old newspaper, decorative tapes, glassine and colored craft paper for a more original one-of-a-kind gift wrapping!

{all images from martha stewart}

friday faves [holiday dessert tables]

friday faves today will feature some of the most amazing dessert tables for your parties this holiday season. the designers behind them have made party holiday paper accessories and DIY printables to complete the looks of each of these wonderful displays.

these two holiday mod tables are the work of the talented kelly of the party dress and WH hostess. i'm loving the use of the classic red and green and the modern red and aqua color schemes.

frog prince paperie's cookie exchange party theme and lovely hanukkah tables have traditional touches and a few fun new takes on the dessert tables.  

the fabulous duo of anders ruff are responsible for these two fantastic dessert display that features their shop's DIY printables for your holiday party needs. here is another version of the red and green holiday color scheme and a winter wonderland version using silver, aqua and white that lends a more elegant classic look to the table. 


i'm hoping to give some inspiration for your upcoming holiday party. browse around their shops for more ideas and pictures and hopefully to get you going into the full holiday mode as you eat up the last turkey leftover!

aston's christmas trees [holiday decor]

ever since we've had aston 3 years ago, we traditionally put up a baby christmas tree decorated with kid-friendly ornaments. we will keep this tradition as long as he looks forward to decorating his own tree each year. we first thought of keeping that tree in his bedroom but since he hardly ever stays there, we've opted to put it out by the fireplace. each year i try to keep a fun light theme for his tree. let me go back on those fleeting baby years as i really am glad to be sticking to this tradition.

this was his first ever christmas tree the year he was born, 2007. i hung baby blue and silver baby-themed ornaments. they are so precious. this set was found in target that year.

the following year in 2008,we had put our house in the market as we were scheduled to close on our new home that december. we decided to only do the baby tree and decorated it with my collection of beanie babies. we loved it and decided to do that baby tree again for aston last year in our new home. see photo below.

for this year i have collected some inexpensive fun ornaments from michaels $1 dollar bin. i was excited to find sports balls-themed ornaments (which he already broke 2 from flicking them) and also plane, taxi and boat ornaments. i topped it with his "A" ornament and this year's baby tree is all set!

i know everyone's busy putting out their tree (if you haven't already done so) but let me ask, what are your holiday decor traditions?

happy thanksgiving

from our home to yours, 

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you have lots to be thankful for this year!

50 beverly park [RHOBH lisa's crib]

lisa's beverly hills mansion is up for sale. here's the listing description : 

50 Beverly Park Beverly Hills, CA Ideally located in Beverly Park is one of Landry best. This secluded two acre site harbors a stunning French Chateau with superb finishes throughout. The house encompasses elegance and charm featuring an exquisite master bedroom with beautiful master bathrooms. A unparalleled wine cellar with room for dining, two offices, and a total of 7 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. The impeccably manicured grounds consist of an elegant pool, tennis court, topiaries and meandering paths.

to take a tour of the massive estate {im in love with lisa's bedroom, white and pink bathroom and closet}, click here. thanks marie for the link!

(sorry for being way off topic here BUT i just have to share....back to regular programming soon!)

beaujolais soiree [a recap]

i had a blast, to say the least, creating the table display for susan on last thursday's special french food and wine festival soiree. months before, susan had informed me about this event and we emailed back and forth about the details she would like the table display to have. we first agreed to do a soft shabby chic look with pastel colored macarons but soon we realized that the fall/autumn event would need more darker rich hues. i then thought of using her signature greeneyed susan logo colors but a tad darker.

fuschia pink, orange, green and chocolate were the colors we finally decided on and susan did her wonders on creating the most delicious macaron flavors to perfectly fit our colors. pistachio with nyangbo chocolate whipped ganache filling for the green macarons. pink was isapahan in honor of pierre herme's famous raspberry-lined isapahan pastry with raspberry rose, lychee and the filling was french white chocolate infused with raspberry pate de fruit. orange was salted butter with caramel cream filling (we ran out of this flavor before the event ended, it was sooo good). and lastly, cafe au lait fit the chocolate brown macaron with rich valhrona cocoa powder and espresso-infused buttercream filling (another popular flavor that night). all of these macaron flavor descriptions were typed up and framed in whimsical colorful wooden frames that were also displayed.

 

 

susan made the most amazing macaron tower which was a hit and even one lady ordered 4 macaron towers for a company holiday party! i envisioned a romantic-look for the table using minimal shabby chic elements like the birds (borrowed from my home and office), manzanita trees (the same trees my friend nina decorated for our friend katherine's pink and gold baby shower table centerpieces) which this time i hung DIY garlands to mimic dangling macarons and flower-filled tiny birdcages ($1 iron birdcages from michael's). i stole the DIY garland idea from bump smitten's post but this time i used glued colored paper punched with my scallop cutter and hung the garland on the manzanita trees (thanks nina for lending me the trees!).

wine choices for the evening and one more shot of the manzanita tree

it was a fun night and i truly enjoyed "working" our table that evening - getting people to try green eyed susan's macarons, meeting new friends and also trying out treats from famed houston restaurants like masraffs, valentino, ruggles, le mistral to name a few. thanks so much to susan for allowing me to decorate/style her macaron display and dear friend, nina for lending me two of the manzanita trees that i'm predicting will be used in more parties in the future (they're so versatile!). more pics (including some behind the scene shots) and stories will be posted by susan as soon as she gets back from a much needed quick vacation getaway before she fills ALL those macaron orders from that night!

friday faves [buyers regrets]

here's a quick post on some pretty things i found while window shopping awhile back that at that moment i stopped, stared, contemplated and refrained myself for giving in as i know i was not sure if my home has a corner, a spot or a nook for any of these. looking back now, i have regrets not picking them up (and i was crazy enough to take pics and file them for more torture). here they are :

this lovely yellow piece would surely add a pop of color to any drab space. they were $ 25 found at tuesday morning last summer. and there were two of them too. it'd be so lovely against a navy and white striped wall on top of a white lacquered credenza. just saying...aarrggh.



i was drawn to these two slipper chairs mainly because they were upholstered in this most amazing patterned fabric. i just cant find a spot for them in my house - booo!



although i got the fuschia pink one to add a touch of whimsy to our guest room, these two purple ones would be so glam for a little girl's bedroom. the chair's shape is so grown up but the huge button bling screams little princess!

again, here are two chairs i so loooove. sshh be quiet, but my husband does not know that i'm slowly moving my crafts stuff and laptop over to his office (which he NEVER uses, btw). i am inching closely to totally taking over that office and convert to my own mom cave that i so need. these two charis would have been perfect for that space and as you can tell i love lavender and purple and i am just so sad about letting this go when i first saw them. oh well...

what about you? is there anything that you can remember you'd wanted to buy and regretted not getting it? come share with my misery.....

MIA [crazy busy]

{image from green eyed susan}

dear friends, sorry for the lack of posts lately. i am happy busy preparing for tomorrow's event and i am looking forward to seeing you if you can make it. i am a lucky gal. see, i will be working up close and personal with these babies courtesy of Green Eyed Susan macarons. will do a post-event blog entry once the dust has settled. and will share tons of pictures too. talk later....



soiree beaujolais [french-american wine and food festival]

 

this is an invitation for everyone in the houston area to come attend the annual french-american wine and food festival this thursday, nov. 18th at the JW Marriot {5150 westheimer houston 77056} from 6-9 in the evening. the event celebration will showcase beaujolais wines and over a dozen excellent restaurants and gourmet food caterers will be participating. and most notably, my friend susan of green eyed susan french macarons will be presenting her oh-so delicious macarons in 4 delectable flavors to pair with the featured beaujolais wines. there will be all night music entertainment, silent auction and a chance to win free airfare tickets from continental airlines! 

i am excited to be there as i was trusted by susan to conceptualize and carry out her macaron table display styling. this will be my first time attending this food festival so i'm naturally curious and i'm also anxious to be designing/styling a dessert display in this magnitude. she has been very supportive and i hope i won't let her down. 

lastly, you're in for a treat ~ head to susan's blog to read more about the history of this wine festival and be a follower of her blog then comment for a chance to win free tickets to the event!

thanksgiving for kids [kid approved thanksgiving tables]

several weeks before turkey day, we get busy finalizing the thanksgiving menu, rounding up ingredients, freshening up guestrooms for out of town guests and bringing down christmas decors that often times we forget to enjoy this holiday occasion. downplay the stress a bit by just simply having fun and never forget to set up a special table for the little guests as well. they are just as important as the adults that brought them and they complete the spirit of blessedness for each family on this day of thanksgiving.

check out a few incredibly fun tables here that includes DIY decor, craft ideas and more. also, Laurie of tipjunkie has a great complete resource guide in preparing your kids' thanksgiving table! 

 

photo sources {top to bottom : pottery barn kids, country living, paper glitter, oh deeh doh}

friday faves [new obsessions]

TGIF!



i dont know about you but i'm constantly updating my iphone case primarily because i handle it constantly and no matter how gentle i can be, i'm always dropping (losing case crystals along the way) or scraping it. currently my iphone is encased in a faux crocodile case that i found at a local small shop but then i found this jonathan adler's iphone case that i'm loving the colors and pattern. secretly, i'm hoping the crocodile case collapse so i can change it with this one!  {image from preppy princess}



this could very well be the most comfortable pair i've ever own. maybe because it's made of cotton and elastane, joe's jeans honey straight leg in madison wash is my new favorite. i've since had a hard time finding a pair of jeans in grey and with it's incredible comfort, stretch and perfect gunmetal hue - i am looking forward to wearing it almost everyday (with washing in between of course!).  {photo from nordstrom}

i'm sure most of you got the 411 from gwyneth yesterday via her GOOP if you're a subscriber. GOOP's WHAT featured jessica seinfeld and her newly released book double delicious and her website's videos showcasing easy and simple recipes (that i am totally liking) while she's hanging out with cool friends, cute kids and one famous funny hubby. the videos show a lighter more real side of their family and friends who have the same passion to cook, eat and have lots of fun!

AND LASTLY,



i am delighted to finally win a giveaway from christine's party blog FOLLOWING PHUBIE! yay, i'm super excited to win $ 30 gc to PHOTO SASSY CREATIONS!
thank you so much (for awhile i thought i was the susan lucci of blog giveaways!).

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HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND Y'ALL!